Conventional packaging techniques call for attaching a semiconductor die to a package substrate. However, the Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) of the package substrate, such as an organic substrate, is typically larger than the CTE of the silicon wafer of the semiconductor die. This CTE mismatch between the package substrate and the semiconductor die causes bending or bowing of the semiconductor die when the semiconductor package cools after heating to cure an epoxy adhering the semiconductor die to the package substrate. Thus, after cooling to ambient room temperature, the semiconductor package is in tensile stress. This tensile stress can cause cracking, interface delamination or other failures in copper interconnect layers of the semiconductor die. Also, where low dielectric constant (low-k) materials are used for insulation of interconnects, such low-k materials require porosity. Adding porosity, however, greatly reduces the mechanical strength of the low-k material, making it susceptible to cracking and delamination under the tensile stress induced by CTE mismatch in the semiconductor package.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a semiconductor die and method for fabricating such semiconductor die which reduces the tensile stress on the semiconductor die during packaging and when packaged, particularly tensile stress induced by CTE mismatch of the semiconductor die with package substrates such as an organic substrate. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.